Man killed in trailer fire was near door

A 59-year-old paralyzed man who died inside his burning mobile home near New Smyrna Beach was just a few feet from a door leading outside, family members said Thursday.

MARK I. JOHNSON and KATIE KUSTURASTAFF WRITERS

A 59-year-old paralyzed man who died inside his burning mobile home near New Smyrna Beach was just a few feet from a door leading outside, family members said Thursday. Richard Lao had been paralyzed since suffering a stroke several years ago and depended on a power wheelchair to get around, his longtime companion, Victoria Lao, said Thursday. “He was found 3 feet from the door,” she said. Lao died of smoke inhalation during the Wednesday morning fire, according to preliminary findings by the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office. But a final determination won't be made until the State Fire Marshal's Office finishes its investigation into what caused the fire, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said. Victoria Lao said investigators told her faulty wiring might have sparked the blaze. It had only been three months since Richard and Victoria Lao and their two adult children, Richard, 20, and Casper, 18, moved into 2056 Porto Blvd. in the Mission Oaks Mobile Home Community, Victoria Lao said. The house had a ramp. “It looked like a normal place,” she said. “It was kind of like our little retirement place.” Richard “Richie” Lao was described as “a hard worker, a jokester” with a love for inventing and working on cars until he became ill in 2004, according to obituary information submitted to The News-Journal. After becoming ill, he enjoyed watching reruns on TV. Victoria Lao said his favorite show was “Hardcore Pawn.” John Buchanan, 45, was passing by when he first spotted the fire and called 9-1-1. As flames consumed the house, he pleaded with God that the man who used a wheelchair was not inside. “Oh, Lord, please don't let that man be in the house,” he said on the 9-1-1 call, which was released Thursday. He told the dispatcher he saw flames and knew there were dogs in the house. But he did not know Lao was also inside. “I guess it's a living room window and I can see the house is completely engulfed in flames,” he said. On the recording, a neighbor apparently tells the caller about Lao. “They said there's a man should be in the house in a scooter,” Buchanan said. “There should be a disabled person there?” the dispatcher asked. “Yes, there should be a disabled man in the house. I was just told that,” he replied. He told someone not to go in the house because it's “completely engulfed.” A woman in the background exclaimed, “Oh, my God.” “So I don't know if the gentleman is here or if they are gone or not,” he said. There were no cars in the driveway, but someone said the family does not have a car. “But you don't know that he's here though, right?” he said, apparently to a woman at the scene. The woman responded, “He never leaves. He never leaves. He never gets out of the house.” Buchanan said he was driving by when he noticed the smoke and flames and called for help. Buchanan said at the start of the 9-1-1 call -- before he knew a man was inside -- that there were dogs in the house. “(I) know there's five dogs in the house but I don't know how to get them out,” he said. The dispatcher told him not to go in the burning house. “I'm not going inside, I'm trying to get to the dogs,” he said, adding at another point, “The house is completely engulfed.” All of the family's dogs were found dead around Lao, except for one found in the shower, Victoria Lao said. Neighbor Robert Bushman, 71, said Lao rarely went outside. “He was a very quiet person,” he said. Volusia County Fire Services' chief of operations, Deputy Chief Jeff Smith, said fire safety in a situation such as Lao's where a person is in a wheelchair or motorized power chair is as simple as making sure you have a clear path throughout the structure to enter or exit. “The best thing to do is make sure you have open pathways,” he said. “That goes without saying, so you do not fall.” In addition, make sure your power chair or scooter is well-maintained and check the battery to ensure it is not overheating when charging or is leaking. The fire destroyed almost everything, melting the television set Richard Lao loved to watch. Another neighbor in the mobile home park, Lorena Giombetti, said she has taken in the family's cat, which along with a Bible, were all that escaped the fire. “That is a sign from God that they are going to be OK,” Giombetti said. But right now, Victoria Lao is scared and stressed. His disability checks were their only income. “Right now we are at zero,” she said. She said Richard Lao owned and operated a drywall company before he got sick. He also spent time working as a mechanic. “He worked really hard,” said their oldest son, Richard Lao Jr. “He worked himself into the wheelchair. All he wanted to do was provide for the family.” The Red Cross has put the family up in Homewood Suites on Bill France Boulevard for a few days, but Victoria Lao said she doesn't know what they're going to do when their time there runs out.